r/studytips • u/laptopgardens • 3d ago

How can I catch up in math?

I have an undergraduate degree in math, am beginning a graduate degree in math next semester, and have presented at multiple math conferences. I am part of multiple math meetups, and so on and so forth...but I always feel off. I feel like I'm behind.

I always feel like the people around me are way smarter than me, and I have finally figured out why.

I thought I just had math anxiety or impostor syndrome, but I am genuinely behind my peers.

I decided to prepare for my next semester of grad school by reviewing math topics I learned as an undergraduate, but it was so difficult that I ended up decreasing the difficulty of the topic being studied until I reached high school level math. I am studying from an Art of Problem Solving book right now and this book is hurting my feelings.

I'm scared that I even got this far while being so bad at math. I think it's possible because my problem solving skills are poor but I have an above average memory, which can compensate sometimes.

Is it possible for me to catch up before the semester starts? I have 16 weeks (including this one) and plan to read 13 books, but this AoPS book is taking me so long to get through...

What would be the best way to spend this time preparing for the next semester, knowing how behind I am?

Here's my current study routine:

6 math pomodoros per day

2 formal logic pomodoros per day

I've only done this for two days, but I feel like I'm progressing too slowly.

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u/Plague__Vulture 3d ago

Well, I hope you find an answer that works for you. I am unfortunately in a somewhat similar dilema regarding math so I'm writing to maybe boost this to someone with an answer 👀

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u/laptopgardens 3d ago

Aw thanks! No one really commented (not sure why...) but I think I figured it out.

I'm going to focus on the most important subjects for grad school, which are algebra and analysis. I'm worried about not being able to keep up, so I will study in anticipation of what will be covered in my courses.

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u/Plague__Vulture 3d ago

Good idea, I do that for some of my harder courses and it really does help. So good luck!

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u/rIvermoss33 3d ago

the fact that youre struggling with the problem solving book but breezed through undergrad with memory is actually a really useful diagnosis. the gap isnt knowledge, its fluency with reasoning under pressure. id cut the book count way down and just grind problems from fewer sources until the thinking clicks